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The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Counteracting the pro nuclear spin that “ionising radiation is OK”

Low dose ionising radiation IS harmful to health http://www.independentaustralia.net/2012/life/health/low-dose-ionising-radiation-is-harmful-to-health/  Independent Australia, Noel Wauchope, 21 May 12, A landmark study on Hiroshima survivors comprehensively disproves nuclear lobby spin about ionising radiation being safe at low doses.  This week, a new report about low dose ionising radiation was published — one that should put a spanner in the works of the nuclear lobby. It is called ‘Studies of the Mortality of Atomic Bomb Survivors, Report 14, 1950–2003: An Overview of Cancer and Noncancer Diseases’.

First of all, let me explain why this report is so important and so timely.

It’s now just over a year since the tragic Fukushima disaster. So the nuclear lobby thinks that it’s time to restart the nuclear renaissance, and to get people to stop worrying about ionising radiation.

To this end, the industry, and particularly the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have projects under way.

In particular, there are two important projects going on —seemingly unrelated ones. But they are, as a matter of fact, closely related.  Both aim to dampen the public concern about ionising radiation — indeed, to promote acceptance of “low level radiation”:

One sets out to downgrade nuclear emergency procedures. The other aims at discrediting the scientifically accepted model on the cancer risk of low level radiation — known as the Linear No Threshold model (LNT), which states that there is no level below which ionising radiation is not harmful, with risk increasing with each added unit of radiation……..

Project 2 – discrediting the radiation risk model

The U.S. Department of energy funds research projects worldwide that promote the theories of “radiation hormesis” and “adaptive radiation”.

Radiation hormesis holds that, at a low level, radiation is not only harmless, but actually good for human health.

Adaptive radiation holds that people exposed to low level radiation, over time, become resistant to its cancer-causing effects.

It’s easy to see how well this fits in with a relaxing of the rules for safety around nuclear facilities, and a public complacency about the nuclear meltdowns at Fukushima, Chernobyl and Three Mile Island…… Continue reading →

May 21, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, spinbuster | Leave a comment

Shocked reaction to USA quietly watering down nuclear emergency plans

A mandate that local responders always run practice exercises for a radiation release has been eliminated – a move viewed as downright bizarre by some emergency planners. ….
These changes, while documented in obscure federal publications, went into effect with hardly any notice by the general public.

These changes, while documented in obscure federal publications, went into effect with hardly any notice by the general public.

Powering down nuclear exercises Utility Products, 20 May 12, Without fanfare, the nation’s nuclear power regulators have overhauled community emergency planning for the first time in more than three decades, requiring fewer exercises for major accidents and
recommending that fewer people be evacuated right away.

Nuclear watchdogs voiced surprise and dismay over the quietly adopted revamp – the first since the program began after Three Mile Island in 1979. Several said they were unaware of the changes until now, though  they took effect in December. At least four years in the
works, the changes appear to clash with more recent lessons of last year’s reactor crisis in Japan. Continue reading →

May 21, 2012 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Cancer caused by uranium fuel processing plant, claims big lawsuit

In recent court filings, plaintiffs provided many tragic stories of living in the Apollo and Parks area in the shadow of the nuclear sites and being diagnosed with cancer.

Mega-lawsuit claims nuke contamination in Armstrong Trib Live News, Mary Ann Thomas Gateway Newspapers , May 17, 2012 The nearly 100 plaintiffs alleging death, cancer and other illnesses from radioactive emissions from two defunct Armstrong County nuclear fuels plants are awaiting a trial date for what is likely to be a second set of a multimillion-dollar federal lawsuit. Continue reading →

May 21, 2012 Posted by | health, Legal, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Iowa’s ratepayers win in defeat of nuclear industry Bill

The failure of this nuclear bill shows that the Iowa Legislature is listening to the people of Iowa and not to the well-financed nuclear power industry or to MidAmerican Energy’s lobbyists.

Nuclear bill’s failure a win for all Iowans  The Gazette, By Mike Carberry, 20 May 12 In a major blow to the nuclear industry, the Iowa Legislature adjourned without passing a bill that would pave the way for MidAmerican Energy to charge ratepayers in advance for new nuclear reactor construction.

The utility could have been allowed to keep the money even if construction was never completed. MidAmerican lobbied extensively for the bill but Iowa ratepayer concerns about nuclear power doomed the proposal. Continue reading →

May 21, 2012 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

Stop Kent nuclear waste bunker plan says Campaign to Protect Rural England,

Environmental group slams Kent nuclear waste bunker proposal  BBC 20 May 2012 A proposal to build a nuclear waste bunker in Kent has been criticised by an environmental group.

Shepway District Council is considering whether a nuclear disposal facility, where waste is buried underground, could be built at Romney Marsh.

Protect Kent have reacted strongly to the proposal saying it must be “quashed at the outset”.

The council said it has “no formal view” about the proposal.

The Romney Marsh Nuclear Research and Disposal Facility would be buried 200m (656ft) to 1,000m (3,280ft) below ground……. Kent County Council has already signalled its opposition to the idea, saying it would push for a county-wide referendum.

Andrew Ogden, from Protect Kent, local branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said the proposal was “unfeasible”.

“This is an ill-considered idea that must be quashed at the outset,” he said.

“Perhaps more significantly, it is a proposal that is so unfeasible and so unlikely to be given any credence by the government. Shepway District Council are wasting time, energy and money in trying to pursue it.”…..  Shepway District Council will hold a series of public exhibitions  over the next three weeks detailing the proposals. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-18137403

May 21, 2012 Posted by | UK, wastes | Leave a comment

NATO should stop kow towing to USA militarism

New thinking is needed on Nato http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/20/new-thinking-needed-nato  guardian.co.uk,  Rae Street  20 May 2012  As Nato meets in Chicago , it is high time our politicians started to take a hard look at the organisation. They need to stop kowtowing to a US agenda of global military dominance through Nato and realise that Nato is not bringing peace and security, but dangerous instability. Seumas Milne (Comment, 16 May) outlined the dangers from wars of intervention; Malalai Joya described the suffering brought to Afghanistan by the occupying forces (Our Chicago resistance, 17 May).

But the dangers are even wider. Nato continues to assert it needsnuclear weapons for defence and still holds a policy of first use of nuclear weapons. At the Lisbon summit Nato leaders reaffirmed their addiction to nuclear weapons, ignoring the nuclear non-proliferation treaty which states that nuclear weapon states should disarm “in good faith”.

Trident is integrated into Nato and there are five nuclear-armed Nato bases in Europe from Belgium to Turkey. Nato is building its missile-defence programme in European bases – aimed at Russia? Outside Europe, Nato is expanding its influence from the Mediterranean to the Pacific.

Nato brings with it enormous cost. Eisenhower’s military-industrial complex is alive and profiting. Since all Nato military forces have to have interoperability, they are constrained to buy the same fighter planes, mainly from Lockheed Martin . In times of austerity the military manufacturers flourish while, in Nato states, people are being hit by savage cuts in welfare services.

Can we hope that new thinking will come out of the Nato summit?

May 21, 2012 Posted by | EUROPE, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Release peaceful protestors of Koodankulam nuclear plant – Sandeep Pandey

Mr. Pandey said, “That there has been no violence so far is a unique feature of this movement and the credit goes to the fisherfolk of Tirunelveli. The government must withdraw all false cases and release two of the activists still in jail, Satish Kumar and Muhilan.”

Magsaysay awardee opposes KKNPP http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article3433480.ece 19 May 12   Sandeep Pandey, Magsaysay award winner and a convener of the National Alliance of People’s Movements, said on Friday that Indian nuclear scientists were dealing with an unknown technology in the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) and that it should not be commissioned hastily as it was against the people’s interest. Continue reading →

May 21, 2012 Posted by | civil liberties, India | Leave a comment

Kudankulam nuclear plant unsafe say protestors in London

The fact is that the Indian nuclear programme itself is backed up heavily by the US and foreign corporates (like Atomsroyexport) and US companies are salivating over deals with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India.”

Protest in Britain over Kudankulam nuclear plant http://ibnlive.in.com/news/protest-in-britain-over-kudankulam-nuclear-plant/259242-62-128.html IBN Tamil Nadu  19, 2012 London: Anti-nuclear and rights group on Friday held a noisy demonstration in front of the Indian High Commission here in protest against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant being built in a tsunami-prone area of Tamil Nadu. Continue reading →

May 21, 2012 Posted by | India, opposition to nuclear, UK | Leave a comment

Nuclear weapons, AND missile shields to stay in Europe – NATO

NATO’s Missile Shield To Keep Nations’ Nuclear Weapons http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-20/nato-s-missile-shield-to-keep-nations-nuclear-weapons.html By Helene Fouquet – May 20, 2012 France  and the U.K. will get NATO’s assurance that the European missile defense shield isn’t intended to take the place of their nuclear weapons, according to a European official with knowledge of the discussions. Continue reading →

May 21, 2012 Posted by | EUROPE, weapons and war | Leave a comment

UK weapons spending – $550 million for nuclear submarines

U.K. To Announce $550 Million In Nuclear Submarine Contracts, Bloomberg, By Robert Hutton – May 20, 2012 The U.K. plans to announce this week which British companies will be sharing in 350 million pounds ($550 million) worth of contracts designing its next generation of nuclear-powered submarines…… During the 2010 general election, the Liberal Democrats, the junior partner in Prime Minister David Cameron ’s coalition, called for Trident to be replaced with a cheaper, land-based missile system. The government will argue that it has since brought defense spending under control.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-20/u-k-to-announce-550-million-in-nuclear-submarine-contracts.html

May 21, 2012 Posted by | UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

“Show of strength” – UK’s hunter killer nuclear submarine to the Falklands

England sends ‘hunter-killer’ nuclear-powered sub to Falklands, Digital Journal, By Igor I. Solar May 20, 2012 Cape Town  – The UK is sending the powerful nuclear submarine “HMS Talent” to the Falkland/Malvinas Islands as a “a show of strength” to Argentina amid a growing diplomatic wrangle over the future of the South Atlantic islands.

The “HMS Talent” (S92) is one of six nuclear-powered Trafalgar Class ‘hunter-killer’ submarines of the Royal Navy. According to the Daily Mail , the submarine “slipped into a port in South Africa last week under a cloak of secrecy” after requesting “a nuclear permission” to dock in Cape Town from May 10 to 30. From Cape Town the sub will depart to the Falklands/Malvinas, in what has been called “a show of strength” planned in London by the Ministry of Defence.  http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/325213#ixzz1vXyXr2Vh

May 21, 2012 Posted by | UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Nuclear plant shut down because of jelly-fish like salps

Salps force California nuclear plant to shut down Lorianna De Giorgio Toronto Star 20 May 12, A swarm of jellyfish-like creatures called salps forced a California nuclear plant to shut down one of its reactors last month after the odd organisms clogged up the plant’s water intake system….

Salps usually live in the open ocean — far from shore. Unlike jellyfish, they don’t sting and aren’t poisonous. But a large influx of them can clog up cooling water intake systems,
which poses a threat to nuclear reactors, say experts…. The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo, Calif., temporarily shut down its unit-two reactor April 26 to May 1 because of a large number of salps in the surrounding water. The salps were getting caught in the plant’s travelling screens, clogging the intake structure where ocean water comes into cool the plant.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1179969–salps-force-california-nuclear-plant-to-shut-down

May 21, 2012 Posted by | incidents | Leave a comment

Uranium mining industry threatened by plan to enrich depleted uranium stockpile

Uranium miners wary of plan to enrich depleted uranium stockpile, By MEAD GRUVER , May 19, 2012  CHEYENNE — The uranium industry and Wyoming’s congresswoman are questioning a determination by Energy Secretary Steven Chu that releasing and enriching up to 9,200 tons of depleted uranium from a federal stockpile won’t roil the uranium market and undermine prices.

The measure endorsed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is intended to keep open a Kentucky uranium enrichment facility and preserve 1,200 jobs.

Three such planned releases of federal uranium inventories could undermine uranium prices and cost jobs in their industry, the group Uranium Producers of America says……

Uranium prices have been averaging around $50 a pound since spiking above $130 in 2007. Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. — whose state has more estimated uranium reserves than any other by far, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration — questioned the department’s view of market certainty in the years ahead……  Up to 9,182 metric tons of depleted uranium — a byproduct of uranium enrichment for nuclear reactors — will be processed into the equivalent of 482 metric tons of low enriched uranium. Also the Department of Energy plans to release up to 2,800 metric tons of uranium per year as part of other projects including cleanup at the Paducah enrichment facility and one in Portsmouth, Ohio. http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/uranium-miners-wary-of-plan-to-enrich-depleted-uranium-stockpile/article_ffd65d4e-03d2-5122-af1e-67fdc8249142.html#ixzz1vY7Gpt6f

May 21, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

Bomb threat to Kudankulam Nuclear plant

One held in connection with Kudankulam Nuclear plant bomb threat letters DNA, May 20, 2012  One person has been arrested on charges of sending letters stating that bombs would explode inside the controversial Kudankulam Nuclear plant on May 21, police said on Sunday….. Leaders of People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy, spearheading the stir
against KNPP, had said it has no role in the threat letters. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_one-held-in-connection-with-kudankulam-nuclear-plant-bomb-threat-letters_1691454

May 21, 2012 Posted by | India, safety | Leave a comment